A Family Afternoon Tea at the St James’s Hotel, London

I was beating my daughter at Scrabble. We’re sitting under the Murano glass chandeliers in the lounge at the St James’s Hotel and Club, the Piccadilly haunt of Ian Fleming and Winston Churchill, playing games. But we’re not only playing them, we’re eating them. 

The lovely St James, where fortunes were once lost by wealthy guests over a backgammon board, has launched an ‘It’s All in the Game’ afternoon tea, with cakes and patisseries shaped like chess pawns and Monopoly pieces, ladders and snakes.

Our waiter didn’t wish us bon appetit but, ‘Good luck with the game!’ Cluedo, Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, backgammon, Dominoes – they’re all on the tea menu. 

My daughter opened the eating game, going for the Battenberg dice. I followed with a crafty move – plucking a Monopoly top hat (made of chocolate and orange mousse) from the top layer of the cake stand. My daughter countered by licking the chocolate letter off the soft sponge Scrabble tile. I played a Dominoes shortbread. Then, in a masterstroke, she gobbled the passionfruit marshmallow Snake in one. And with that, I ate my chocolate hat.

Check out our family-friendly destination guide to the British capital, including things to see and do with kids in London, and hand-picked recommendations for places to stay.